The U.S. had five crews make the A finals Friday at the 2018 Pan American Games Qualification Regatta at the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The women’s single sculls, men’s and women’s quadruple sculls, men’s pair and men’s double sculls all moved on to the A finals to race for a spot on the podium, while the lightweight men’s double sculls and lightweight women’s single sculls earned a spot in the B finals.

With yet another commanding performance, Jenifer Forbes (Baltimore, Md.) again clocked the fastest time in the field, winning her semifinal in a time of 8:14.87. Canada’s Michelle Truax earned a spot in the final, taking second in a time of 8:24.48 and Bermuda’s Michelle Pearson earned her spot, finishing third in 8:24.71. They will be joined by 2016 Olympian Felice Chow of Trinidad and Tobago, Argentina’s Maria Sol Ordas and Brazil’s Milena Viana. The three women finished the second semifinal in 8:20.88, 8:23.96 and 8:25.01, respectively. The six will race in Sunday’s final.

Finishing third in their semifinal, Nathan Lado (New York, N.Y.) and Wes Vear (Marquette, Mich.) will race in the final of the men’s double sculls on Saturday. Cuba’s Fournier Rodriguez and Ibanez won the semi in a time of 6:57.58, while Chile’s Martinez Hodde and Cardenas Morales crossed in 6:59.13, 1.73 seconds ahead of the Americans.

The women’s quadruple sculls crew of Julia Lonchar, Margaret Fellows (Warwick, Mass.), Sydney Taylor (Dover, Del.) and Keara Twist earned a spot in Sunday’s final by finishing second in their heat, 2.7 seconds behind the Argentinians, who finished in 6:50.66. The two crews will be joined by Chile and Cuba, who finished the second heat in times of 6:47.48 and 7:04.7, respectively.

After being relegated to the repechage in the morning, the men’s quadruple sculls crew of Vear, Lado, Cooper Hurley (Andover, Mass.) and James McCullough (Philadelphia, Pa.) will race in Sunday’s final after finishing second in this afternoon’s repechage. Brazil earned the other spot in the final, winning the rep in 6:09.74, 1.45 seconds ahead of the Americans. The two will be joined by Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina and Cuba in Sunday’s final.

A top four finish in the repechage would earn Logan Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) and James Garay (East Leroy, Mich.) a spot in Sunday’s final for the men’s pair. Finishing third in a time of 7:10.96, the duo etched their spot at the start line. They will join Brazil and Argentina, who earned their spots by winning their morning heats, along with Chile, Mexico and Cuba who finished the rep in 6:58.34, 7:06.7 and 7:12.07, respectively.

Lightweight women’s single sculler Jessica Hyne will race in the B final on Sunday after finishing fourth in her repechage. She needed a top two placement to make the A final. She will face off against Paraguay, Uruguay, Canada, Peru and Ecuador.

Additionally, the lightweight men’s double sculls crew of Hurley and McCullough missed their spot in the A final by just one place. Also finishing fourth, the double needed a top three finish to advance. The crew will face off against Uruguay, Canada, Paraguay, Guatemala and Nicaragua.

In total, 12 U.S. boats are racing at the qualification regatta. Crews that finish high enough in each boat category will earn the right to be nominated to represent the U.S. at the 2019 Pan American Games taking place July 26-August 11, 2019, in Lima, Peru. An explanation of the qualification system can be found here. Finals will take place on Saturday and Sunday.

For more information on the 2018 Pan American Games Qualification Regatta, click here. For more information on the 2019 Pan American Games, click here.

Additionally, click here for the official Facebook page of the regatta. There you can find a livestream for Saturday and Sunday’s portion of the regatta.